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FOLD

REMOTE SENSING

Geologic Folds from Space

Space imagery is well-suited for us to recognize and interpret types of distortions of


layered strata that produce such geologic structures as folds, faults, and fracture sets
(joints). Some of these structures are so small that we must identify them on the ground.
As an example of what lies below the resolutions achievable from space, consider this
photo of a small outcrop exposing crumpled shale layers, that form miniature anticlines
and synclines (this same pattern occurs on grander scales such as the major folds of
the Appalachians).

Anticlines are upfolds (arched upwards) whereas synclines are downfolds (shallow- to
steep-sided U shape). In a series of folds anticlines are always next to synclines that in
turn are next to anticlines (unless disrupted by faulting). This ground photo shows three
anticlines and 2 and a half synclines:

A similar group of folds, shown here in color, at about the same scale.

On a somewhat larger ground scale, look next at the folding shown in this outcrop photo
of volcanic ash layers in Japan. There is an erosional discontinuity (unconformity) that
separates earlier folding in the lower half from folding (above) after later ash flows were
deposited.
The folds shown above occur in supracrustal rocks, those above what is commonly
called the "basement" rocks that make up the underlying (generally older) core of a
continent (in the craton) and are composed of metamorphic rocks mixed with igneous
rocks. At one time, before reaching the present surface, these deeply buried rocks were
hot and "soft" (plastic-like). Under those conditions, layers in these crystalline rocks are
deformed by squeezing and crumpling of heated units under high pressure as
metamorphism proceeds. Here is an example of this type of folding (technically, called
ptygmatic); note the hammer for scale. This folding is normally not detectable by space
sensors (except those with very high spatial resolution).

However, larger fold features at regional scales often show obvious patterns of
geometric curvature or displacement that stand out in relation (context) to neighboring
features, as best displayed in space images covering extensive areas. We used the
Waterpocket Fold in the preceding pages of this Section to introduce this idea. Folds
that extend over large areas (e.g., a single anticline may be one or more miles in width
and nearly as high) are quite evident in space imagery. But when seen on the ground,
typically only a small part of the arching or downfolding is visible at any local exposure
of the folded strata, so that it is usually necessary to measure variations in inclinations
(called "dip" by geologists) at separated locations in order to perceive the full nature (as
a fold) of such large structures.

Thus the Maryland fold shown above is such a case since it has a single inclined limb
(position 1). Such folds have limb pairs inclined in opposing directions. If in traveling
along the Maryland Highway the next set of layers is inclined in the opposite direction
(position 2), the structure would be an anticline. But if one continues further (from 2) in
the same road direction and then encounters (at 3) layers inclined in the original
direction (like 1), the structure is a syncline (between 2 and 3). We saw examples of
large folds - both antinclines and synclines - in the Section 1 Exam you may have just
completed. There, the Folded Appalachians were highlighted. These tend to be
elongated but do end, and are thus referred to as closed.

An obvious example are these next folds found in the Ouachita Moountains of
Oklahoma-Arkansas (the full scene is shown on page 6-3). The Ouachitas are an
extension of the Southern Appalachians (the fold belt in between is buried under the
Mississippi Embayment). The folds range here from those nearly circular to folds
plunging in one direction (causing a curvature at one end) to areas where the folded
units remain parallel.
A similar style of folding is displayed in the Sierra Madre Orientale (fold belt) near
Monterrey, Mexico, as shown in this Landsat 7 TM image. Some structural geologists
consider this to be an extension of Appalachian folding, but inclined rocks of younger
age are present here.

Next, we take a quick look at classic folds in Australia, Iran and northwest Africa.
Elsewhere in this Tutorial (e.g., in Section 8 on Radar; Section 17, page 17-3), we
describe other examples of folding depicted at regional scales.

For the moment we will preview the radar expression of folding with this look at a SIR-A
image of closed structures composed of metasedimentary rocks in the Hamersley
Range of northwest Australia.

The full Landsat scene below covers part of the Zagros Mountains along the southwest
coast of Iran by the Persian Gulf. These mountains consist mainly of elongate folds
which arch upwards as anticlines and downwards as synclines. The anticlines here
make up distinct landforms as high hills with central ridges that taper at either end (a
condition referred to as a closed fold).

A simple analogy is to imagine cutting a watermelon in half through its longest


dimension and laying the flat side on the floor. From above it resembles some of these
Zagros anticlines. If we cut through it again across the long dimension at the mid-
pointer, the exposed cross-section through green outer skin, white rind, and reddish
center would appear similar to the folded strata within the anticlines.

These elliptical anticlinal folds in western Iran comprise a belt that is unsurpassed
anywhere else in the world for their symmetry, extent and quality of exposure. Here is a
more detailed look using a Landsat-7 ETM+ image:
2-11: Why don't you see the synclines in the Landsat images? ANSWER

An unusual phenomenon occurs in parts of the Zagros Mountains. Go up to the first


image of this region; note patches of very dark gray material. These show up better in
this perspective image made from ASTER and DEM data:

These dark features are outspillings of salt that have been called "salt glaciers". Rock
beds composed dominantly of salt (NaCl) can be produced, often in thick layers, in a
marine environment in which salinity exceeds a certain value and direct precipitation
removes the mineral halite and sometimes other mineral species that make up the class
evaporites. As salt beds become more deeply buried, the overburden pressure or
pressures associated with folding cause the salt material to flow like a very thick liquid
under conditions that produce "plasticity". The salt may be pushed upwards, piercing
overlying rocks, making salt domes (often excellent traps for gas and oil). The salt may
reach the surface and "pour out", moving slowly to make the "salt glaciers" observed
here.

Many folds do not stand out as individuals but are a larger part of continuous folding
(and faulting) called orogenic belts or, more commonly, fold belts. There is a more or
less continuous fold belt, of varying widths, running from Alaska to the tip of South
America. The term "Cordillera" can be applied to this general mountain trend. The belt
system is formed along the zone of convergence in which the Pacific tectonic plate is
subducted near the edge of the North and South American plates, causing sedimentary
rocks along the edge of these plates to crumple (fold) and be lifted up into mountain
chains. In South America, the belt makes up the Andes Mountains. In this Landsat
image, near Santiago, Chile, the Andes belt has narrowed to less than 120 km, with
high plains on either side.

One of the best exposures of a complexly folded mountain belt anywhere occurs in the
Atlas Mountain system of northwest Africa. This group is part of the great orogenic belt
that includes the Alps, Appenines, the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain), and other
chains that we can trace eastward through Turkey into the Zagros Mountains. These
belts began to form about 70 million years ago, when the Tethys Ocean (precursor to
today's Mediterranean) started to close as the African Plate moved northward against
the Eurasian set of plates. The orogeny climaxed in the late Cenozoic period and is still
active.

This perspective sketch map of northwest Africa shows the Atlas Mountains in context
with the coast of Morocco and the extension into Algeria. Beyond the left end of the map
lies the Anti-Atlas segment of this belt. The map includes the Middle Atlas and High
Atlas segments, and the Rif mountains east of Tangiers. The mountain chain cuts out
moisture coming in from the Atlantic such that this orogenic effect produces the Sahara
Desert to the east these high ranges (much like the coastal mountains, Sierra Nevada,
and Cascades do in the United States).
The Landsat scene below covers part of the Anti-Atlas mountains of southern Morocco.
In the upper left is a deformed and metamorphosed core of Precambrian rocks against
which the tight disharmonic folds of lower to mid-Paleozoic rocks (center) have been
shoved northward along thrusts. The white sinuous band against a fold ridge is a dry
stream or wadi.

2-12: What does part of this Moroccan scene remind you of structurally in some
other part of the world? ANSWER
The Atlas mountain belt was also involved in the major closing phase of the Tethys Sea
about 80 million years ago, when the African Plate shoved northward, producing the
Alps and other European mountains. A portion of the Anti-Atlas is imaged below using
three SWIR bands on Terra's ASTER (see Section 9). Again, the folded structures stand
out. The color composite shows various colors associated with rock units: yellow,
orange, green, and dark blue denote limestone, sandstone, gypsum, and granite
respectively. This is another strong confirmation that IR and thermal remote sensing can
distinguish and identify major rock types (where vegetation cover is sparse) with
considerable validity.

The High Atlas has peaks reaching above 4500 m (13000 ft). Here it is seen from space
in a Landsat mosaic:
These are the highest mountains in Africa and resemble parts of the Alps except that
the vegetation is distinctly different. Here is a view taken from Marracech in the south
interior of Morocco that typifies the terrain of the Anti-Atlas; below it is a view within the
High Atlas segment:
Further south in Africa, in Namibia, is the Branberg Massif, a 21 by 31 km dome that
reaches 2.5 km (1.6 miles) in height. A granite batholith intruded into the sedimentary
rocks along its side.

A cluster of plutons composed of dark igneous rocks are exposed in the Air Mountains
of Niger. The light-toned areas are mainly sand-covered desert.
On the next page, we look at three illustrations of how we can detect faulting from
ground offsets and, more subtly, from discontinuities of landforms. Following that, we
illustrate the advantages of space imagery in picking out lineaments (usually fractures in
the outer crust that may be faults), together with an appraisal of how these can often be
misidentified and misinterpreted. We then close this Section with a practical example of
how fracture analysis leads to a successful search for a valuable natural commodity
water.

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